Editorial Commentary from a Texas ego: Let me start out by saying I've eaten a lot of different 'chilis' and many of them were pretty tasty. I just can't think of them as chili.

Notice that at no time does this recipe, or any other true chili recipe, call for the inclusion of beans or tomato products.

If necessary, good pinto beans may be served on the side.

Chili with beans, noodles, or other adulterants is chili stew or chili soup or at best a chili dish.

I have since stopped using chili powder and have started making my own. Blending and grinding dried chiles like New Mexicos, Anchos, de Arbol and others allows one to make it to exactly suit one's taste.

A bit of background...Chili first spread as a result of visitors to San Antonio sampling the chili offered by the 'Chili Queens' in Market Square. They carried tales and recipes with them when they left, and soon the word was out. If you want to try a truly authentic chili recipe, here is one that was passed down from one of the original Chili Queens. To my knowledge it is the only one so preserved from that time. Notice all the things that aren't in it.

Lightly flour the beef and pork cubes. Quickly cook in the suet and pork fat, stirring often. Add onions and garlic and sauté until they are tender and limp. Remove all pieces of fat. Add the water to the mixture and simmer for 1 hour. Grind the chiles in a blender or molcajete. Add to the meat mixture. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises, then serve.

Re:Let's see the recipes - here is mine2009/02/10 00:54:03
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Awesome chilli recipes everyone! I work with How2Heroes and there's a really neat Turkey Chili w/ Lime Sour Cream recipe on their site. This healthy recipe hearty, colorful, a little spicy. Guaranteed to be a hit at any party or on any dining room table. The recipe is just too long to post here, I don't want to confuse ya'll, so here's the direct link to their how-to-video recipe: http://how2heroes.com/videos/entrees/turkey-chili-w-lime-sour-cream

In a large stock pot, on medium high heat, add a little oil and brown the beef in batches till well browned on all sides. Pull out the beef and use the oil to cook the onions and peppers and cook till translucent. Add the garlic and cook till soft. DO NOT BURN THE GARLIC!! Add all of the dry ingredients and cook for a minute or two more. Dump in the beer and deglaze the pan. Add the rest of the wet ingredients. Reserve the water till needed. Cook this until you get the desired consistancy. Add the water as needed. You will notice that this recipe has no nasa, hominy, or other fillers. Pour over beans or pasta if you want to but do not add it into the recipe.

1.

In a bowl, mix together flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Add butter and, with your fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut in until mixture forms fine crumbs. Add 3 to 5 tablespoons of ice water, one tablespoon at a time, and stir after each addition until dough sticks together. Gather dough in your hands and knead briefly just to form a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

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Combine peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, and garlic in a 12- to 14-inch frying pan along with 1/4 cup olive oil. Stir often over medium-high heat until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly. (If making ahead, package airtight and chill up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before using.)

4.

When dough has chilled, unwrap it and, with your fingers, press it evenly over the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan with removable rim. Fill crust with pie weights (or dried beans) and bake in a 450° oven until rim begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Pour off the weights (or beans) and continue baking until crust bottom is lightly browned, about 10 minutes more.

5.

Fill crust with vegetable mixture. Arrange goat cheese slices on top. Beat together eggs and cream until smooth. Carefully pour over vegetables and cheese. Place filled tart pan on a baking sheet.

6.

Bake tart in a 325° oven until filling is firm when gently pressed in center and edges are lightly browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly, then carefully remove pan rim. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cut into wedges to serve. Mix arugula with remaining oil and the lemon juice and serve a portion alongside each tart wedge.

Put a slice of sopresatta in the mushroom (crimp the inside to fit), but keep the edges out

Put a mozzarella ball on the sopresatta

Drizzle with oil, add cracked pepper and broil until meat starts to blacken on the edges and mushroom is done

Here's my favorite part. Cut a piece of green onion 2" long, then cut it lengthwise, but not all the way through into ribbons (leave about 3/4" intact). Put the stem end into the mushroom between the meat and cheese, spread out the "leaves", drizzle lightly with balsamic. Repeat for how many you need to make.

When finished, it should look kinda like a flower, so I call it the Sicilian Rose. It's funny what a 12 pack of cheap beer and boredom can do.

Hi...all of you. I am new bie here to the forum and as well as to the cooking. I noted all the recipes in my cooking recipe book. I will post the results after trailing on my husband. Thanks for posting.

This is really good with the mix of earthy flavored black beans and creamy white beans combined into a chili.Adding a little dusting of chipotle chili powder to taste, if you like a little heat, really warms you up.

This is a fiery, award winning chili created by President Reagan's press secretary Jim Brady before he was appointed to that post in Jan 1981. Brady was critically wounded during the assassination attempt on President Reagan in March 1981.

The original Bear's Goat Gap Chili may be too hot for a mass market. Mrs. Sarah Brady suggested using only 4 or 5 jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped, the dish will still be hot enough for most people.

Re:Let's see the recipes - here is mine2013/08/25 09:37:20
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A hint for masa harina (which I've almost certainly mentioned in other threads, but bears repeating). One problem with this ingredient is that it is mostly used for making tortillas, tamales, etc. This is a problem because it is virtually impossible to find it in any quantity less than a 5 pound bag. Alton Brown has recommended crushing tortilla chips into the mix, which actually would work, if it didn't also add in a lot of salt (as unsalted tortilla chips are hard to find, and expensive when you do find them). This is certainly reasonable if you are planning to add a lot of salt to the mixture anyway; you just add less.

The obvious (at least in hindsight) solution is based on the cost of the masa harina. A 5 pound bag in my area costs about $3. So, you take a container of at least as much as you can possibly use in the next year or so, put as masa harina as you can fit into that container, and toss the rest. Yes, it's a waste of perfectly good food, but if you think of masa harina as a seasoning rather than a staple, $3 for a year's supply is not at all bad.

Directions: Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Drain off the fat. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.

This is Brian Wilson's Chili (not the Beach Boy but a radio talk show host). It's entertainingly written so I thought I'd post it in case anyone would like to try it. I haven't yet made it, my regular and white chili recipes are much easier to make. So now you know...I'm lazy.

Brian Wilson’s Gen-U-Ine Hot Damn Chili

Summary:

This is the concoction with which I won First Place in the 1985 March of Dimes “Gourmet Gala”, judged by New York Times food critic, Craig Claiborne. The kitchen wall is also adorned with similar awards from competitions in Georgia, Maryland, Virginia and New York. For some inexplicable reason, there are 2 “third place” awards, however I have it on unimpeachable authority the judging on those occasions was rigged. (The son of the owner of the venue came in first. Duh!)

But I digress….

This is a very casual recipe. I’ve made it so many times, I’m not certain the measurements are all correct. The important ones are close enough. It is also a very forgiving recipe. You have to really screw up to get a bad batch. It is also a great recipe for cowards (see: Melanie Morgan). If you don’t like venison, use stew beef. If you don’t like “spicy”, cut back on the jalapenos. Of course, if you “don’t like spicy”, why the hell are you making chili!?

A final note: You will happily notice there are NO BEANS in this chili. Because if’n it’s got beans, it sure as hell ain’t CHILLI! It’s “stew” (rhymes with “p-yoo”). Adding beans voids the Warranty.

2 days before assembly, cut meat to bite size chunks and layer in a Pyrex baking dish or similar.Add Secret Ingredient (Equal parts of Worcestershire, Soy and Teriyaki sauce)Be sure to add enough to nearly cover the meat. Cover and stick in frig.

Add water, tomato sauce, bbq sauce, all the spices and all the peppers, tomatoes and onions.

Stir and ignore.

Cover the bottom of a large fry pan with a light coating of olive oil.Set burner to High (but not Highest) (8-9)Scoop enough meat and marinate into pan to cover bottom.This is just a quick sear, not cooking the meat. As soon as most sides are brown, dump everything into aforementioned cauldron.Repeat. If there is any marinate left, pour that in, too.

Brown/drain ground round- add to pot.Quick sauté of the mushrooms in some butter - add to the mess.

Cover and bring pot to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to Medium/Low (3-4)Go find something to do for an hour or so. *After 30 min +/-, one good stir is permissible otherwise, no peeking.

Cut the heat Off (that would be “0”) and let stand for 10-15 min.Skim off any excess oil/fat from surface.

Mix sufficient flour and water to make a past and stir in to thicken**This is a subjective determination. We’re not creating SuperGlue here but the finished product should not be the consistency of soup either.

You’re done but it’s not ready to eat.For best results, let it sit covered for 3-4 hours.

*Stew beef if deer season’s closed, you missed your shot or you’re a wimp-a-zoid about eating wild game.** The entire contents of bottles of McCormick spice whatever size that is.

Note: This recipe makes a LOT of chili. Even with “seconds”, 4 adults will be stuffed.The Good News is: it freezes perfectly for future meals or suitable hand weapon in case your unappreciative guests decide to attack.

Ok, here's one more chili recipe: Bob Talbert was a very funny writer for the Detroit Free Press, years ago. He created this recipe and posted it in one of his columns. He said a local restaurant owner asked if he'd mind if he featured the dish in his eatery. The request was merely a courtesy, I'm sure, but it does indicate how good it is. I make this often, it's simple and really good. I added the Randall Beans to the recipe because that's what I like to use to make this dish with but I don't remember what the original recipe called for by way of beans. I left in Bob's method of cooking the chicken but I just like to cut up the raw chicken breasts and add them as soon as the broth (I use Better Than Bouillon or Minor's soup base) is added. When you want a meal in a hurry, this is one to try. Oh, and pay attention to the "HEAPING" instructions to a couple of spice additions, level measuring spoons just won't cut it. I keep meaning to quantify the heaping instructions to real amounts but it works just the way it was written. And I'm lazy.

When ready to use, chop the breasts into bite-sized cubes. Saute the onionsand garlic in one Tbs of olive oil in a 5 qt. pot until you can seethrough the onions and the garlic smells great.

At this point stir in a 4 oz can of chopped green chilis with liquid intothe onions and garlic. Add the beans, broth and chicken to the onions andgarlic. Add the cumin, oregano, cayenne, and hot sauce.

Heat until it starts to bubble (10 to 15 minutes) and serve with cornbreador garlic bread. Makes 6 servings.

TIP: To reduce the fat to the absolute minimum, refrigerate the cans ofchicken broth so the fat can be skimmed off easily before adding to therecipe.